KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's natural rubber production in April decreased by 39.2 percent to 48,889 tonnes compared with the previous month, but was up 17.1 percent from a year earlier, the Malaysian Statistics Department said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the main contributor of natural rubber production was smallholding sector with a contribution exceeding 90 percent.
In April, exports of natural rubber decreased by 0.1 percent to 59,437 tonnes as compared to March.
China remained the main destination of Malaysia's natural rubber exports, accounting for 49.1 percent of the total exports. Other major destinations were Germany, Finland, Iran and the United States.
Meanwhile, the domestic consumption of natural rubber decreased by 6 percent to 39,243 tonnes within the same period. Rubber gloves industry remains the main domestic consumer with a consumption rate of more than 70 percent.
